Scrumptious chocolate and yoghurt cake

There is something so comforting about a piece of moist chocolate cake, still slightly warm from the oven and covered in a buttercream icing. Partnered with a cup of tea and a good book, it’s a lovely way to spend an hour or two. Depending on how good the book is, I may treat myself to a second slice of cake because I think cake is always best on the day you bake it. That’s how I justify a second slice to myself anyway.

I do freeze the surplus, as there is only so much cake two can eat. A slice of cake slightly warmed in the microwave is almost as good (probably because there are no bowls and beaters to clean!)

I have slightly simplified this recipe from Fauzia’s Kitchen. Using yoghurt in cake makes for a really moist and light crumb and the recipe is so easy. Sometimes I haven’t had quite enough yoghurt, so I have added a bit of milk or sour cream to make up the difference.  I have also substituted buttermilk (or milk soured with lemon juice or vinegar) with equal success. It’s a very forgiving recipe and doesn’t take much time to bake. The hardest part I think is keeping Stuart away from the cake long enough to ice it!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup caster sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter (softened)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup plain flour
  • 1/2 cup self-raising flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder (the best you can afford, the darker the better)
  • 1 cup thick natural yoghurt
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Directions

  1. Grease and line a 28cm cake pan and preheat your fan forced oven to 180 degrees celsius. Or chuck your silicone mould on the bench, that works.
  2. Beat the sugar and butter in a bowl until it has paled in colour and is light and fluffy.
  3. Sift all your dry ingredients together in a separate bowl a couple of times. Or once.
  4. Add the eggs one at a time to the sugar and butter and beat well after each addition.
  5. Add the flour mix as well as the milk, yoghurt, vanilla essence and salt and mix gently until just combined.
  6. Pour into your pan and bake for about 30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out with a few crumbs still sticking to it.

I ice my cakes with about 25g of softened butter, icing mixture and cocoa with a splash of milk. It’s not very technical, I just keep adding icing mixture, cocoa and a dot of milk until it’s the right colour and consistency and there is enough to ice the cake. I ran out of icing mixture the day I iced the cake in the picture which is why the sides are naked. Alternatively, I can tell myself that’s a “sugar-less” version which makes it healthier. Ha!

Also, measuring butter in a cup is easy if you use displacement. For half a cup of butter, pour 1/2 a cup of water into a measuring cup and add butter until the water line reaches 1 cup.

 

 

 

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